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Summer camp for ‘special’ kids
Chandigarh, June 19 Workshops in art and craft, yoga and music and dance are being conducted for 30 youngsters, of which 10 are from outside the institute and 20 are from within the institute. According to Prof B.S. Chavan, Joint Director at the institute, “the camp is essentially to bring the children together in an informal environment so that they can have some fun too. There are summer camps for children all over the city but none for these special children who want to be a part of amusing activity just as much as their normal peers do”. The enthusiasm these children display is infectious. They are warm, sunny and extremely inviting in their demeanour. The special educators at the institute believe love and patience can win these young people over. Sixteen-year-old Prashant (name changed) has been colouring the outline of a fish for more than an hour, the red sketch pen scratches on the paper almost making a hole but the painting brings on the most delightful grin of satisfaction on his cherubic face. According to the special educators, 17-year-old Pankaj (name changed) is ahead of his class. He loves music, badminton, football and understands everything conveyed to him. The institute is making efforts to find a placement for him so that he can be fruitfully employed. Prof Chavan says these workshops are important because if these children are not kept occupied for even a month, they fall back in their learning. So in addition to the dance and yoga classes, they are also taught the basic tools of self sufficiency like eating and toilet skills, tying shoe laces and buttoning. “During the camp detailed assessments of IQ, speech & hearing and associated physical and surgical problems are worked out. Those children not enrolled in the institute are issued disability certificates and guardianship certificates after the course is over,” says Prof Chavan. The institute which opened in 1999 has been conducting these workshops every year and for Rs 200 as registration fees, they supplement the diet of the children with a fruit and drink every day along with providing transport to the children and paying the special educators for the month. The children love the activities and stomp their feet and wave their hands in the air when the music starts. The sight is beautiful to behold for the realisation dawns that every child has the right to feel joy, to feel cherished and most of all to feel that he or she is important enough to invest time and love on.
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From border to border under 55 hours
For these young boys, it is the thrill of being on the road and beating the odds. For, this expedition is about a mission that is as unique as it is exhilarating. Five young 20 some things — Rajwant Singh, Karan Dutta, Harsimranjit Singh Gill, Ashish Gupta and Amit Raj — will start off on June 25 at 3 pm from Hussainiwala in Ferozepore on the Indo-Pakistan border and will drive all the way to the historic outpost at Chushul on the Indo-China border (Chushul was one of the points of invasion by the Chinese during the 1962 war) and set a new Limca Book record.
The route developed by team leader Rajwant, who started preparing a year ago for this trip, traverses through tricky, treacherous and restricted terrain. This enthusiastic youngster deliberately selected the flag-off and end points of the journey as a gesture of respect, a way of honouring the political heads working towards peace in this conflict-ridden region. The youngsters are planning to complete the drive in less than 55 hours which will be endorsed by the Limca Book of Records if completed in the stipulated time. The complex expedition of 1237 km by road, with a Tata Safari as perennial companion, will go through Manali towards the snow laden Rohtang Pass on to the Changla Pass near Leh, and finally end at Chushul. While the record gets set here, the boys will drive further into Ladakh and come back home via the Sangla Valley in Himachal Pradesh travelling through almost 3000 km of breathtaking landscapes and unforgettable experiences. “It is the thrill of being on the road, to be one with nature that gets our adrenaline going. If we can, by our attempt, bring about a change in the perception of our people about how easy a peaceful solution to our border disputes really is, then we have more than achieved what we set out to do,” believes Karan. Surprisingly, the publicity generated is completely incidental to the boys’ scheme of things. According to Harsimran, “If ‘fame’ had been important, we could have chosen Chandigarh or Wagah to flag off from. We have taken Hussainiwala as our starting point since our idea is to shift focus so that this too can be opened to the public on both sides of the border just as Wagah constitutes a crossover point.” For these young boys, the task of convincing their parents to give permission was tougher than the prospect of the perilous journey! For, the trip is no cakewalk. Apart from difficult terrain and government restricted areas, they will also have to do more mundane things like feed their starving stomachs! So, canned food, biscuits and Maggi noodles make an appearance. In addition, “a kitchen tent, camping equipment, sleeping bags and a stove to save our souls from biting the biting cold,” adds Amit, have been duly packed! The pressure is on. Daily fitness runs, eating light to shed those extra kilos and lots of leafy green salads is the norm for the day. After all, how many get to live their dreams and hope to regain a paradise, lost.
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‘Tukde Tukde Zindagi’ staged
“Terrorism and a civilised society cannot coexist,” opined Khushwant Singh with a critical censure holding the agony of Punjab too deep for words to explain and the Punjabi play “Tukde Tukde Zindagi” staged by the Adakar Manch, Mohali, at Tagore Theatre supplements the fact with vivid veneration.
The play, based on two stories, “Nadine” and “Kuch de Tukde”, by author Ranjit Rahi, reviews with a fresh perspective the ideological differences within the social segments and registers a protest against the anti-human forces, reduced to crass communalism, plunging the credulous masses in endless misery. Structured in the pastoral ambience with a simple but befitting set, the play involved the audience both emotionally and aesthetically with its sensitive theme. Be it the dark days of terrorism in Punjab or the riots in Delhi, the play was a transparent synthesis of the impregnable forms of inhumanity such as well-engineered political violence, institutional racism and hypocrisy. The protagonist, Bogha Singh, who kept sticking to the ethical values, had to bear the anguish and torment of highest order while standing by the commitment to the widow of his Brahmin friend, Ram Kaur. The repressions by the police and anti-social elements constrain Bogha, the revered and religious granthi, to go insane symbolising the lives of many such victims. The
play on the other hand is never the less suggestive of resurrection of an ideal society. Leading the cast, Dr Sahib Singh, who scripted and directed the play, portrayed the pangs of riot victims anywhere in world with an excellent display of emotions.
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8 Punjab bowlers find berth at MRF Pace Academy
Mohali, June 19 Commenting on the performance of the upcoming cricketers, Shekhar said, “I have found a lot of talent here and many of them performed extremely well in the trials. It is too early to say whether the selected cricketers would find berth in the Indian team in future or not but they have potential to do better in the game”. They would hone their talent under the guidance of professional coaches at the academy. The names of the selected cricketers are: Amanpreet Singh, Harmeet Singh, Sukhvir Singh, Jaskaran Singh, Vikas Chauhan, Nipun Gupta, Balbir Singh and Hardavinder. Coaching camp A week-long coaching camp for u-17 cricketers concluded at Punjab Cricket Association stadium here on Sunday. Former Ranji Trophy players and National Cricket Academy qualified coaches, under the supervision of Mr D.P. Azad, imparted training to 40 cricketers. Out of these 40 probables, 24 will be selected for another camp to be held soon. The final 15, to represent Punjab at the national-level tournaments, will be selected from that camp. |
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Another Abhinav in the making
Chandigarh, June 19 Amanpreet had excelled in 10 metre air pistol event in the International Shooting Competition held in Suhl, Germany, last month, by scoring 581/600. Amanpreet (17), who belongs to Phillaur and is the son of a PAP Academy employee, Sewak Singh, earned laurels for the country when he bagged two gold medals in the meet. In another international tournament, Olympic Hopes Shooting meet held in Plzen (Czech Republic), he won a bronze medal. “Amanpreet is a gifted boy,” observed K.S. Sidhu, secretary, Punjab Rifle Shooting Association. He said Amanpreet had the habit of practising for longer hours, whatever be the occasion. “He has tried to learn from his seniors by improving his style,” added Sidhu. Amanpreet began shooting just five years back and is now a force to reckon with. Amanpreet said next year was crucial for him as he was preparing hard for the Junior World Cup. He will attend the national selection trials organised by the National Rifle Association of India to be held in Delhi on July 11. He was all praise for the Mohali range and said it would be good if indoor ranges were converted into air-conditioned ones, which would yield better performance from shooters. |
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Roller-skating to excel in basketball
Chandigarh, June 19 Chandni, who has just passed the Class XII examination, said she and Meena had decided to go for varied kind of sports practice to excel in their original sport basketball. And they chose roller skating. On her previous achievements, Chandni said so far she has taken part in two sub-junior national basketball meets held in Pondicherry and Kapurthala. For the past three consecutive years she has been representing Chandigarh schools team in the 48th, 49th and 50th National School Games held in Karnataka, Delhi and Maharashtra. Meena, who is in class XI, said though basketball is her first love but the past few days roller skating has provided her more encouragement. She said it was really worthwhile if one takes a little change during vacations in varied sport. Meena said for the past four years, she was being regularly chosen to represent Chandigarh in the National School Games as well as the national sub-junior and junior championships in basketball. She was also picked by the Netball Association of Chandigarh for the IXth National Sub-Junior Netball Championship held last year. |
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Floodlights for Sec 42 hockey stadium
Chandigarh, June 19 The Rs 1 crore project was pending for clearance from the local Air Force authorities who have finally given a go-ahead after assessing if the stadium comes under the funnel area of the air base here. The funnel area is the area which comes under the flight path of a craft for taking off or landing. The stadium, was likely to be out of the funnel area. However, the clearance was still required, say officials. The UT Administration had approached the Ministry of Defence to seek approval of the project. Joint Director of Sports, J.P.S. Sidhu said they had got the permission and were now in the process of starting the work for installing the floodlights. About 1,450 luxes— technical word to define brightness of light — are required for staging international hockey matches. A total of six poles would have to be erected for these flood lights, Mr Sidhu said. “Now that the Ministry of Defence has given a green signal and the official permission will reach us in a week’s time, we need just 60 days to install the lights,” he added. After installation of the flood lights, Chandigarh would be second such hockey stadium after Hyderabad. “President of the Indian Hockey Federation K.P.S. Gill was keen on holding matches of Premier Hockey League (PHL), the second edition of which is scheduled to be played at Chandigarh next year. The flood lights are mandatory to hold contests of such standards. The inaugural edition matches were played at Hyderabad under flood lights”, he said. |
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Quark win cricket title
Chandigarh, June 19 Batting first, Quark scored 248 for eight in stipulated 35 overs. Sanjeev scored 72 . Nagesh and Rohit contributed 42 and 34 runs, respectively. Balwar was the most successful bowler for Gyan Jyoti as he claimed three wickets for 26 runs. In reply, Gyan Jyoti could make only 202 in 33 overs. Only Aman (52) and Jatin (40) batted with confidence against Sanjeev who dismissed half of the Gyan Jyoti team for just 26 runs. Tej Govind bagged two wickets for 20 runs. Sanjeev of Quark was adjudged the man-of-the-series, man-of-the-match and the best batsman. Rohit was declared the best bowler. Brief scores: Quark: 248 for 8 in 35 overs (Sanjeev 72, Nagesh 42, Rohit 34, Balwar 3 for 26); and Gyan Jyoti: 202 all out in 33 overs Amand 52, Jatin 40, Sanjeev 5 for 26, Tej Govind 2 for 20). |
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Bakshi on AIFF disciplinary committee
Chandigarh, June 19 This has been intimated to him by Mr Alberto Colaco, General Secretary of AIFF, through a fax massage. It is the second time that Mr Bakshi has been given this responsibility from northern India. He has been appointed for a four-year term. The disciplinary committee of the AIFF , according to the constitution of the association, will consist of a chairman, deputy chairman and four numbers. The chairman and the deputy chairman have legal qualifications. The function of this body will be governed by the AIFF disciplinary code. The committee can pass decisions only when at least three members are present at the meetings. In certain cases, the chairman may rule alone. |
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Tennis meet from June 25
Chandigarh, June 19 The matches will be played on all three surfaces — hard, synthetic and clay courts. The players from outside the city are also eligible to compete the tournament. The last date of entries is June 24 till 5 p.m. All participants are required to bring their date of birth certificate at the time of filing entries to the general manager,
CLTA. |
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